How to install Office 2021 on Macbook

Question

How to install Office 2021 on Macbook

Ayaz Nemat 40

I need to install Office 2021 on my MacBook. When I login in to my Microsoft account, I see the product under my profile with a download/install link. However, the link downloads the Office 365 installer and when I try to run this installer it installs Office 365 which then doesn't run and gives an error because the license is for Office 2021 and not valid for Office 365. How do I get to download the Office 2021 installer now? Microsoft discontinued support of Office 2021 this month but does that mean I can't download and install it anymore?

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Answer 1

Norah-L 13,305 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Ayaz Nemat,

Although the installer may display Microsoft 365 branding, Office for Mac uses a common installation package. After installation, the license associated with the Microsoft account determines which product is activated.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

First, completely uninstall Office, then reinstall Office suite from Microsoft’s Office for Mac update history page. I suggest using an earlier release, such as version 16.113, because some Office 2021 for Mac users have reported activation problems after installing the latest version. You can also try the individual Word, Excel, and PowerPoint installers for those versions if the full-suite installer does not help.

After installation, open Word and sign in with the Microsoft account associated with your Office Home & Business 2021 license.

Please note that Support for Office 2021 ended on October 13, 2026. This does not cancel your perpetual license, but Microsoft no longer provides technical support, bug fixes, or security updates for this version.

Let me know how it goes!

Ayaz Nemat 40 Reputation points

2026-10-29T00:55:43.6233333+00:00

Thank you for sharing the history page. I was able to install individual older versions and get it to work.
Norah-L 13,305 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-29T01:49:01.02+00:00

Dear Ayaz,

Thank you for the update. I’m glad to hear that the issue has been resolved.

Please also click “Yes” to mark my answer as accepted. This will help others experiencing the same issue find the solution more easily.

Have a great day!

Answer 2

Yes, Office 2021 for Mac can still be downloaded and installed.

For a one-time purchase of Office 2021, the supported install path is:

Sign in to the Microsoft account dashboard with the Microsoft account associated with the Office 2021 purchase.
From Overview, select Office apps, find the Office product, and select Install.
On Mac, open Finder > Downloads, then double-click the installer package.
Follow the installer prompts: Continue > review license > Agree > Install.
After installation, open an Office app such as Word from Launchpad and complete activation with the same Microsoft account.

If the account portal keeps delivering an installer that activates as Microsoft 365 instead of the perpetual Office 2021 license, a supported alternative is to install the Office 2021 for Mac package directly:

Office 2021 for Mac Installer

After installation completes, open an Office app and activate it with the Microsoft account that already has the Office 2021 license attached.

On Apple silicon Macs, no separate installer is required. Microsoft states that the installation packages contain optimized code for both Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs.

Support status is separate from download availability. The documentation states that support for Office 2019 has ended, and the install article still provides Office 2021 installation steps. End of support does not mean the installer is unavailable in the provided guidance.

If the current apps still show a Microsoft 365 activation or license mismatch on Mac, remove the existing Office apps and reinstall using the Office 2021 for Mac installer package. This is especially relevant if Office was previously installed from the Mac App Store or another package source.

References: